Part I: Approaches of multilingualism in the past. -- Codes, routines and communication: forms and meaning of linguistic plurality in Western European societies in former times / Willem Frijhoff -- Capitalizing multilingual competence: language learning and teaching in the Early Modern period / Pierre Swiggers -- Part II: Multilingualism in Early Modern times: three examples. Plurilingualism in Augsburg and Nuremberg in Early Modern times / Konrad Schröder -- Multilingualism in the Dutch Golden Age: an exploration / Willem Frijhoff -- Literacy, usage, and national prestige: the changing fortunes of Gaelic in Ireland / Joep Leerssen